Online ordering

Newton Hy-Vee’s newest service, Aisles Online, offers its customers the most convenient grocery experience — home shopping and home delivery.

Aisles Online is the company’s online grocery shopping service which allows people to look through its inventory from the comfort of their home or work and provides either drive through or delivery service.

Nearly 30,000 items are available online. Items are organized by category such as fresh, pantry and frozen and then broken down into subcategories such as produce, delicatessen, meat and seafood, dairy, cheese and eggs and prepared foods (under the fresh category).

“We thought it was a solution for customers to either help save time or who might not get a chance to get out to the store,” Newton Hy-Vee Store Director Todd Fox said.

Hy-Vee started the program with a test-run in June 2015 for campers at Iowa Speedway. The campers ordered from their campsite and the store employees delivered to their campsite.

The program went into full effect for residents of 50208 in August and has gained popularity as one of the store’s newest services.

“It’s grown incrementally every single week. Every week we get repeat customers and gain more customers that try it out,” Fox said.

Using Aisles Online, customers can sit down and make an order or they can save an order and come back to add more items are needed.

All orders are received at the store by an Aisle Online employee. Linda Deutsch, Tonda Eilander and Chery McLaughlin are three Newton Hy-vee employees dedicated to Aisles Online, but a total of 10 to 15 employees have been trained.

Employees use a hand-held computer to serve as a personal shopper of sorts, walking around Hy-Vee everyday, scanning and completing orders made online. The orders are then stored in bins in the stockrooms and coolers, to keep the food fresh. Customers have the option to pick up their order, or have it delivered to their house.

“It’s really such a time-saving process to have an online store,” Hy-Vee Aisles Online manager Linda Deutsch said. “It’s an ideal system for the busy mom or even the dad who doesn’t like shopping.”

For any order less than $100, there is a $4.95 delivery fee, but orders exceeding $100 have no additional charge. Aisles Online orders can be made at any time of the day, seven days a week. Deutsch said there is also a phone call option for those who don’t like to use the internet to place their orders.

Many departments are involved in the selection and delivery process of Aisles Online. Deutsch said a lot of customers have thanked them for the service offered.

“Our motto at Hy-Vee is to make life easier, happier and healthier for our customers,” Deutsch said. “And it’s just a new way that Hy-Vee is satisfying needs, because grocery shopping can demand a lot of time from people.”

To order online, visit www.hy-vee.com/grocery/.

For more information, or for store orders, call Newton Hy-Vee customer service at 641-792-7030.

Contact Kate Malott at
641-792-3121 ext. 6533 or kmalott@newtondailynews.com